


You were in the darkness too

by girafe13



Series: Band of Brothers prompts [15]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmates, War Era, dumb boys in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 20:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15714825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girafe13/pseuds/girafe13
Summary: Soulmates AU: he one where soulmates share extreme physical sensation — if one gets hurt, the other gets hurt, and etc.'He blinks, and the pain is gone.  What the hell was that all about?It’s only after he learns that Winters was grazed by a bullet later during the day that Lewis understands. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath.“Fucking duh”, he thinks , because really, Lewis would have been lying to himself if he didn’t admit that… Well…That he was head over heels in love with Richard Winters."





	You were in the darkness too

**Author's Note:**

> A little prompt from tumblr! P47chick asked for soulmates AU with a dash of hurt/comfort... I hope I delivered!
> 
> Title from Cosmic Love from Florence & the Machine  
> Once again, English is not my first language. 
> 
> Enjoy! :) xxo

 

 

It begins with a sharp pain in his lower calf. 

 

It’s not the first time Lewis sees injuries. From his first day training to D-Day, and now back in Carentan, Lewis Nixon knows blood. He also knows bones, and teeth and gasps and body parts that hang in a way that they aren’t supposed to. Lewis is familiar with screams echoing through the night, of guys losing their minds, slowly but surely retreating in the part of their brains still untouched by all this violence. 

Yes, Lewis Nixon knows all those things. He thanks God, or whoever is up there that he wasn’t injured. He tries not to add “yet” at the end of this sentence, but sometimes, seeing untouchable guys get hurt, it’s hard not to think he’s the next on the list. 

So when he leaves Dick to clean up Carentan, and feels a shooting pain, almost blinding in his left leg, he knows this is it for him. 

“Fuck,” he curses, immediately jumping on his good leg to find balance, his helmet almost falling off his head.

He blinks, and the pain is gone. Lewis breathes a few times, frowning. What the fuck was that? A phantom pain? He didn’t hear any gunshot, his leg is perfectly fine after a frantic inspection… What the  _ hell  _ was that all about? 

It’s only after he learns that Winters was grazed by a bullet later during the day that Lewis understands. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. 

“ _ Fucking duh," _  he thinks , because really, Lewis would have been lying to himself if he didn’t admit that… Well… 

That he was head over heels in  _ love  _ with Richard Winters. 

That brave, stupid, righteous man, with unshakable morals and soft, green eyes that seem to always find Lewis wherever he goes. Adding to that fiery red hair, never one out of place, a smile to die for and a willingness to see the good in people… Lewis was screwed from the beginning. 

It’s not as if he wondered day and night if Dick was his  _ soulmate _ . There was a war going on, for Christ’s sake. 

But knowing… Knowing that his best friend was more than that made everything appear clearer. It changed everything. 

If Lewis got injured, or God forbid, Dick got injured, both of them feels it. If Lewis loses an arm… If Dick  _ dies...  _ If Dick doesn’t make it… 

“No,” he says, this time out loud, making Harry shift in his drunken sleep beside him. 

He can’t think about this possibility. He has to protect Dick. 

But for that to happen, he has to tell Winters. He has to… 

Then, he remembers that sometimes, soulmates are  _ not  _ reciprocated. In some occasions, people fall in love with other people, and it can change a person’s soulmate. 

Lewis’ stomach turns. How to make sure that Winters is his soulmate? How to make sure that he doesn’t get turn down by his best friend? How terrible would that be, knowing that he loves a man that can never, fully, love him back? 

“Ugh-” says Harry in his sleep, and Lewis can’t help but agree. 

____

It’s only a few weeks later that Lewis can finally know for sure. 

He gets shot in the head. 

Not the ideal way to go, of course, but well. Nobody can really choose how they die. 

Lew survives the beginning of Operation Market Garden. He survives explosions, gunshots that fly over his arms, legs, missing by an inch or so. It’s when they retreat that he gets shot. 

 

How ironic. 

 

“Nix!” he hears Dick shout, his voice loud and tense with panic. 

“I’m alright,” he wants to say. He feels nauseous, disoriented. His mouth is dry and he can’t breathe.

He falls on the ground.

Is he dead? Would he be dead if he felt Dick’s arms around him, holding him up? Would he be dead if he could still see, the chaos around them, people running everywhere, his helmet discarded on the ground, still smoking from the stray bullet. 

“I’m alright,” he says out loud, and then repeats it for good measure. He’s starting to beleive it. 

He looks up at Dick. 

_ Oh _ . 

His best friend’s face is full of tiny freckles, and his eyes are as big as they can get. It’s almost painful to look at him this close, how beautiful he looks, and how Lew loves him so much, his chest might just burst. 

“Am I alright?” Lewis then asks, because he’s not sure anymore, not with the look of complete shock Dick is giving him. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dick says, and it feels forced. 

“Okay, then quit looking at me like that,” Lewis answers, trying to get up, to hide his face,  _ anything  _ to not be so close to Dick right at this very instant. 

Dick holds him still. “Why… Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, and it’s the first time Lewis can really hear the panic in his voice, the worry. His eyes are still comically big, and if Lewis didn’t just  _ almost die  _ right then, he would have laughed. 

“Tell you what?” he asks, almost whispering, clutching at Dick’s uniform.

“I felt it. I felt it all,” Dick answers, and Lewis’s heart sinks. “Lew, we’re… We are  _ soulmates _ .”

Lewis gulps. “I’m sorry,” he says, and he’s not sure why he’s apologizing for. Lew feels tears at the corner of his eyes as Dick cups his cheek in a tender motion. 

“Don’t be sorry, Lew… I never thought you felt the same way…” Dick whispered, his thumb slowly caressing Lewis’ face. 

Now, Lewis laughed. He couldn’t help himself. He felt more than he heard the teary, strained sound that comes out of his lips. “You… You feel the same way?” 

Dick kisses him. It lasts only a few seconds, but they are already the best seconds in Lewis Nixon’s entire life. 

“I have been obsessed with you since day one, Lew. You just came up to me and it was over. The silliest crush I ever had,” confesses Dick, almost sheepishly. 

Dick was in love with him the whole time? And didn’t say anything? How could a perfect man like him love someone as damaged as Lew? And as soon as he got the news, Dick didn’t even hesitate, diving in and exposing his feelings, no fear of getting rejected. Lew was so grateful for this man, it felt like years of stress and tension finally dropped from his shoulders. 

“Well I’m glad, because otherwise this would have been really awkward,” says Lewis when he comes back from his shock.

Dick laughs and helps him get up. The chaos around them has significantly slowed down, soldiers walking instead of running, orders shouted instead of barked. Lew can’t let go of Dick, had to touch him in any way possible. The two men look at each other like they can’t exactly believe it, eyes full of promises and possibilities. 

“Hey, since we’re feeling each other’s pain, can we make a pact not to get injured during this?” asks Lew, and Dick nods, half serious. 

“Sure, Lew.” 

“And since we’re feeling the pain, do you think that we can also feel the pleasure?” he adds, because he can’t stop himself, and he can’t help that Dick is finally  _ his _ . 

His to touch, his to caress, his to kiss... 

Dick’s smile grows a little bigger, and it stirs something up in Lew’s lower stomach. 

“We’ll have to test it tonight, I guess,” says Dick, almost absentmindedly. 

“Good thing we’re sharing a tent,” adds Lewis, and his hand finds Dick’s almost effortlessly. 

“It’s a very good thing, indeed, Lew,” Dick answers, lacing his fingers with his. 

Even if they were retreating from a battle and the war was far from over, Lewis Nixon felt deep inside his chest that no matter what would happen, he had already won. 

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to comment or kudo, it really makes my day! xxo


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